June Favourites ’20

I feel like I say this every month… BUT how is it July already?! June flew by and I’m sad to see it gone in a way. However, I am excited for July and what it brings with it.

The start of July me and Dane are getting a new bathroom fitted and we cannot wait! It’s been something we have planned to do since we bought the house four years ago, so it’s great to get it done, finally! We sadly had some water damage back in May and it upset us both a lot. Thankfully this is getting sorted, alongside the bathroom itself.

I’m nervous but excited for all the work to be done and cannot wait for a fresh start to the bathroom! Hopefully I’ll be able to show you guys some before and after photos of the bathroom.

Majority of June I relaxed and eased off playing certain games to play others. It was a strange month to be honest but one I really liked as I loved just relaxing and not doing all that much. I’m hoping July will be more productive… But a little lazy still too. 😛

Image taken from The Latest Kate

As always I like to share a positive photo here from The Latest Kate as I find her images are really sweet and the message behind them meaningful.

Here’s to new things in July! I’m excited for what the month holds. 🙂

• Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion.

I recently did a MASSIVE spring clean of the belongings in our bedroom as well as the bathroom and I threw so much stuff away! Loads of old nail polishes, body products and more. I also discovered that I owned this Aveeno lotion too and I’ve started using it daily on my hands whilst working. I can’t have too many lotions at the moment for my hands and feet as I was to try and keep the eczema away as much as I can. Thankfully what I’m doing is working, which is good. I have to be honest though, as much as I love the Aveeno lotion I own, I won’t be buying it again. I’ve paid less for better in all honesty. I would however like to try more Aveeno products in the future.

• Barry M All in One Nail Paint.

This is the only all in one top and base coat that I’ll use and have used for years now. Lately I’ve found I haven’t been wearing much nail polish and instead I’ve just been wearing this clear nail paint instead. I like to have something on my nails and as this is also a nail hardener too, I find it really does help my nails strength wise and they grow quicker than they would without this on. I was hoping for my nail technician to be open again at the start of July, but alas beauty and nail bars won’t be opening… Sooooo I’ll be continuing to look after and paint my nails for a while longer. I definitely recommend this all in one nail paint if you’re on a budget but want something that will work!

• Peripera Sugar Glow Tint in shade Cherry Pie Filling.

I bought this lip tint recently from Depop. I’ve never bought a lip product second hand before so I was a little dubious. However, I haven’t encountered any issues which is great and in all honesty I’m glad I bought this lip tint as it’s amazing! I’ve worn it almost daily since around the start of June and I really like it. It’s a gorgeous dark pink shade, which you can put a little or a lot on to build up the colour. However, this doesn’t tint and stain the lips, which is a shame but even so it’s a lovely colour.

• Simple Kind to Eyes Soothing Eye Balm.

With a mixture of hot weather and my hayfever being on an all time high in June, this eye balm was very much needed and really did help to soothe my sore eyes. Whether that was down to the heat, hayfever making them sore and especially lack of sleep due to some nights where I couldn’t sleep well due to the warmth. I’ve used this eye balm on and off for years and it’s something I always go back to.

• L’Oreal Paris Smooth Sugars Clear Scrub (review here)

This is a face scrub if I need to finish using soon so I can buy myself a brand new one! I love this face scrub and it honestly lasts ages as a little bit goes a long way, so much so I’ve owned it for over two years now… A lot of people would have thrown it away by now, but for me it’s done me nothing but good. This is an easy face scrub to use and one that I thoroughly enjoy using due to that. You use it on dry skin and it not only feels gently and effective, but has a lovely warm feeling too. Then you rub a little bit of water into your skin to melt the scrubby sugars away. I always feel really clean and fresh after I use this scrub and still highly recommend it to this day!

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Image taken from Pinterest

Favourite TV Show – Shameless.

First of all, can we just remember that a young James McAvoy played Steve in Shameless and how gorgeous and amazing he was in it (may I add – still is!)??? ANYWAY! I don’t know why, but I felt the need to binge watch this recently as it’s now on Netflix, which means no annoying adverts to contend with on All 4. I got to about season 8/9 before and turned it off as I got bored and turned to something else. I’m going to ride it through to season 11 and FINALLY finish binge watching it. Shameless has been a show I’ve loved since it came out in 2004 and I’ve watched it when it was on the TV back in the day, on DVD’s and of course streamed on All 4. I refuse to watch the American version by the way, so don’t recommend. 😛 I recommend the UK and ORIGINAL version if you fancy something new to watch!

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Movie – The Rescuers/The Rescuers Down Under.

That gif is so accurate for The Rescuers, I swear to God! Amongst the few Disney films that make me cry my eyes out this is one of them, alongside Dumbo! Penny in the first film breaks my fucking heart and I always sob at the scene where people chose a red headed girl over her and she’s praying to get away from the boat, the prison she has been kept in. I decided to binge watch these one evening as I wasn’t feeling great, but wanted something to keep me busy. Both The Rescuers films remind me of my childhood as I adored The Rescuers Down Under when it came out. I have fond memories of it and even photos of me holding the video and book my mom bought me with a massive smile on my face. If you haven’t watched it, GET ON IT! They’re lovely films.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Book – Meh…

I haven’t been reading this month… End of. I did buy the new volume of Snot Girl but in all honesty I just haven’t gotten around to reading it for many reasons. I’m terrible with reading lately and I really need to improve that. 😦

Favourite Music – “Let Me Hear” – Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas and “Tequila” – Jax Jones, Martin Solveig & RAYE.

These are two songs I’ve found myself replaying over and over again lately on Spotify and in turn it makes me laugh how they’re completely different genres. The first song “Let Me Hear” I discovered through an anime called Parasyte which I watched in June (and recommend!) that this song features on the opening credits. I love it and whenever it comes up on my shuffle I sing loudly to it. I’ve also added “Tequila” which is a song I discovered months ago through a Spotify advert. I only really gave it a proper listen recently and instantly fell in love with the beat of it.

Image taken from Nintendo

Favourite Game – Pokemon Cafe Mix.

This is one of the newer game releases from Pokemon, a free to play game on both phones and the Nintendo Switch. I’ve downloaded it on both, but I’ve mostly been playing it on my phone. Animal Crossing has definitely taken a back burner the last week of June and I think it’s just due to be wanting to play other games. Pokemon Cafe Mix is so much fun and it really does remind me of the Pokemon Cafe in Japan (which you can read about here). As this game is free definitely give it a go!

So those are my favourites from June! June was a good but odd month. Again, I’m just so excited to get my new bathroom installed now and have my bathroom back again. I may write about it in the future as to what happened with my bathroom and how we dealt with it all.

What were your favourite things throughout June? How as June for you guys too? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time, stay safe and take care all!

3 British Dramas to Watch If You Loved Three Girls

For a few days on social media I was hearing quite a lot about Three Girls, a new drama which aired on BBC One recently. When I heard what it was about it sounded like the sort of drama that I love to watch, for various reasons.

I knew the moment I started watching it that I would love it! It’s based on true events of what happened with the Rochdale child sex abuse ring.

Taken from IMDB:

Powerful drama based on the experiences of three of the vulnerable young girls who were groomed, sexually abused and trafficked by British Pakistani men in Rochdale and of the failure of the authorities to do anything about it.

If you haven’t watched it yet then I’ll let you know a little bit about it. There are three episodes all an hour long and contain an amazing cast from Maxine Peake (Shameless and Dinner Ladies), Jill Halfpenny (Eastenders and Humans), Molly Windsor (The Unloved) and Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones and It’s All Gone Pete Tong) who is one of my favourite British actors.

You can still find it on BBC iPlayer to watch… I’m currently watching it for the third time, I love it THAT much! 😛

Here is the trailer for the show so you can check it out for yourselves.

Sooooo with so much hype about this show I thought I would share three British TV dramas you should watch immediately! If you haven’t already of course… 😛

1. The Unloved (2009) – Directed by Samantha Morton. (Synopsis taken from IMDB)

Lucy is eleven years old. Having been neglected by her estranged mother and father, she is placed in a children’s home. Through her eyes, we follow Lucy’s struggle to cope with the system. Her saving is her self-belief and her certainty that she is being watched over and protected by the holy spirit. Hers is a heroic quest for love, beauty and transcendence.

This is one of my favourite TV dramas and I remember my excitement back in 2009 when it was being advertised constantly on Channel 4! It’s about Lucy who is taken into care due to her father not being able to look after. As the synopsis states it’s about a child’s eye view about the UK care system. It’s a very powerful drama and is both directed and written by Samantha Morton, an Oscar nominee and who has also starred in films such as Sweet and Lowdown and Minority Report.

Samantha Morton has stated in interviews how she wrote The Unloved based off true events from when she was in care herself. Some of the themes throughout the drama are physical, sexual and mental abuse, neglect, alcohol and drug abuse as well as more around these sort of themes.

The one thing I noticed first of all when watching Three Girls is that Molly Windsor who plays Molly also played Lucy in The Unloved. This made me happy due to what a wonderful young actress she was in The Unloved.

As well as Molly Windsor the drama also stars Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting) as Lucy’s father, Lauren Socha (Misfits) as Lauren, someone else in care who Lucy shares a room with and also befriends, Michael Socha (This is England) as one of the workers in the home who is concerned about the abuse that is happening and Craig Parkinson (Four Lions) as one of the workers in the care home who is also abusing Lauren.

Although the drama isn’t about the same topic it shares similar topics such as sexual abuse, and how the system has let people down and continues to do so.

The show of course was on Channel 4 nearly 10 years ago (FUCK THIS MAKES ME FEEL OLD!!!) and sadly isn’t available to watch on All 4 anymore, BUT you can pick it up on DVD fairly cheaply which is what I did as I needed my The Unloved fix. I’m sure you can find it online to watch somewhere too.

2. Pleasureland (2003) – Directed by Brian Percival. (Synopsis taken from IMDB)

The story of Joanna, a 14-year-old girl who feels pressured by her peers to lose her virginity. The story, told primarily from her point of view, follows her as she self-destructs, becoming involved in a world of sex, drugs and betrayal. Including graphic and sometimes violent underage sex scenes, the film portrays an occasionally exaggerated but nonetheless disturbing and thought-provoking view of teenage sexuality.

This is the first of all of these dramas that I watched and I think one of many that sparked me into loving these types of hard hitting TV films. It’s another one from Channel 4 and definitely one that should be shown in schools today due to what it’s about.

It’s about 14 year old Liverpudlian Joanna. Life seems okay for her, she works hard at school, has a friend who isn’t arsed about the pressure of other teenagers, her home life isn’t so bad… But something is missing… She ends up mixing with the “cool” girls in her class and they constantly talk about sex and their relationships. After attending a party she starts her trip into discovering her sexuality and befriends the girls. Her life changes dramatically as if overnight and sadly it isn’t all that it seems. Bullying, drugs, alcohol, lies and even sexual abuse, this is definitely a hard hitting coming of age drama which focuses heavily on sex. It is literally the whole, “everyone is having sex apart from me.”

I was 13 when this drama came out and to be honest when I was 14 like Joanna I probably started to wonder why I wasn’t having sex and didn’t have a boyfriend. It seems like a big thing growing up as a teenager and I don’t know if it’s harder for teenagers now but fuck sake it felt pressurising as hell back then! Now I would tell my teenage self not to give a shit. There’s all the time in the world for sex and boyfriends.

It originally aired on Channel 4 and is surprisingly still available on All 4 to watch. I’ve put it on so that can jog my memory with what happens. As I said before it’s definitely one that I feel should be shown in schools.

There are a couple of familiar faces such as Barry Sloane (Hollyoaks and US show Revenge) and Philip Olivier (Brookside).

Sadly I wasn’t able to find a trailer for this, but take my word on it that it’s good and just go and watch it on All 4!

3. No Child of Mine (1997) – Director by Peter Kosminsky (Synopsis taken from IMDB)

A British schoolgirl struggles to come to terms with the horrific and disgusting sexual abuse inflicted upon her by the adults in her life. When she resorts to self-harm to escape her troubles, a caring teacher tries to get her some help.

Like Three Girls this drama is based on true events and as far as I know aired on ITV… But don’t quote me as I can’t remember… I’m probably wrong.

The one thing about this drama out of all of them on this post (including Three Girls) this is the most hard hitting and very upsetting. I think it’s made worse because the girl who is being abused at home and throughout her time in care is the youngest out of all of the girls. I know Lucy in The Unloved is young and whilst she is physically abused by her father, Kerry in No Child of Mind is sexually abused and used by many, including both her parents.

The drama just shows the constant sexual abuse Kerry is put under by her parents, the people who should be protecting her from this, as well as carers throughout her time in care. It’s a depressing drama but one that really opens your eyes to how fucked up people are in this world and how over the years the care system has and still is letting our children, teenagers and young people down.

It doesn’t show that everyone is out to get her however as (from memory) her school teacher/counselor helps her along the way to make sure she is getting the best treatment. At times it’s out of his control what happens.

This is another drama that I think needs to be shown in school so that children in particular can learn that them having sexual affection from anyone isn’t right and that they can go to places like NSPCC and Childline and be “saved” and protected.

This is only available to watch on YouTube but the copy is pretty good considering the drama first aired 20 years ago.

It’s definitely worth a watch but be prepared to feel uncomfortable.

So those are the three shows I recommend you watch if you loved Three Girls!

I just want to put out a disclaimer that before you watch any of these dramas (I’m sure you’re smart enough to work it out) please be aware that they all contain scenes that some people my find upsetting and disturbing.

Are there any dramas, TV shows or films that you think I should watch that are similar plot lines to these I’ve mentioned?

Have you watched any/all of these? Please let me know what your thoughts were about them in the comments.

Until next time take care all and I hope you’re having a lovely week.